Posts Tagged ‘River runner’s survival kit’

The trip that Lee and I are planning will be unique in our 18 years of running rivers together. This will be our first time going down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon with out back up. It will be just the two of us in one boat. Sounds romantic doesn’t it? It could be if all goes well. A lot can go wrong on a river like that. We are taking some precautions. We are packing is a major first aid kit (the Park Service recommends one), I am trained as a Wilderness First Responder, we are taking along a satellite telephone which is pricey for two people ($320.00), and we are taking two river survival kits in case we get separated from our boat in an over board incident. The kits will clip onto our life vests when we go through the big stuff and will contain what one would need to survive for 2-3 days on shore alone until another party comes along. The Park service tells us that during the week we are launching there will be one party launching every day until March 1 and then 2 launches a day. There should be enough traffic that help wouldn’t be more than a day or two away.

On the left is the assembled kit. On the right are the components which are (L-R): Small NRS Sea-Stow dry bag, 3600 calorie survival bar, whistle, LED flashlight, space blanket, signal mirror, waterproof matches, fire starter stick, alcohol for starting wet wood, wand warmers, water purification tablets, and a collapsible water bottle.
Of course we won’t need any of this stuff, but that is what insurance is for.